A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet
by Alice McGrovan
Summary: The boy had tossed orange hair, it almost looked a blaze on his ivory skin. He had multiple piercings, too many to count. He seemed like he should look punk, or dangerous in some way, but he looked almost tame. Except in his eyes.


**Chapter 1- All that Glisters is not Gold**

It'd been nearly three months since he'd left the living hell that contained nine months of his life at a time. One-hundred-eighty days of boring, event-less, time spent sitting in a room listening to some monotone old guys say something about some subject he probably wouldn't use much in his future anyway.

Sure there were some differences from last year. For starters, we was now a Junior in high school, rather than a Sophomore. Also, he was not only in a new school, but a completely new place.

Nagato had been born and raised in Amegakure. It wasn't very big, but it wasn't exactly small either. Now he was in the very different, very unusual Konoha.

Konoha probably fared to be about the same size as Amegakure. But there seemed to be far more people there, everything was so...different.

He'd only arrived in Konoha a few days before school started, so he didn't really have much to go exploring and get to know his new living place. He'd moved into his own apartment ans gotten settled in. Over the course of the few days he had before going to school, he had often thought about just backing out of the lease and moving back to Amegakure. But he had nothing left back in that town he had reminded himself. His parents were gone, died when he was young, and now so was his aunt, his only living relative.

He'd hoped moving would give him a fresh start, besides, things couldn't really have been worse than they were back home, could they? He'd never really fit in, he'd always just been someone to hang back in the corners, places that people would never notice him, where they never looked. No, it couldn't be worse. He was determined to make some friends in Konoha, to finally fit in and be a part of things. Hell, he just might go a school sponsored event...maybe.

* * *

Nagato took a deep breath and glimpsed quickly back to the schedule he seemed to have a death grip on. He couldn't figure out why his nerves were acting up so much. It wasn't like this was going to be any different than any other first day of school. It wasn't like he was missing friends he told himself.

He'd arrived about half an hour before the bell rang so that he could roam around a bit and find all of his classes. He glanced back at the paper, this time registering what it actually said.

_1__st__ 8:30-9:25 Literature – Jiraya_

_2__nd__ 9:30-10:20 Health - Tsunade_

_3__rd__ 10:25-11:15 Modern World History - Iruka_

_Lunch 11:15-11:45_

_4__th__ 11:50-12:40 Physical Education – Gai_

_5__th__ 12:45-1:40 Pre-Calculus - Ibiki_

_6__th__ 1:45-2:35 Chemistry – Yamato_

He sighed heavily. First period was literature with some guy named Jiraya. It was a core class; he actually had to be awake for it. Konoha was a pretty big school, he figured it probably had a coffee bar somewhere. He set off in search of the elusive place, that he hoped existed, when he bumped into a rather old looking gentle man. Well, not exactly old, timeless was a better way to describe him.

He had long white hair; about waist length. It had, bangs? If that was the right word. They were, hard to describe. _He _was hard to describe. His hair was pulled back in a low pony tail, there were medium length, chunks?, left out on either side of his face. His clothes were loose, comfortable looking, and he wore a loose vest over the top. He look almost like how a sage would look, and strangely somewhat, frog like? He held some books, the one on the bottom of the stack had a circle with a line through it, like a prohibiting sign.

"S-Sorry," Nagato stuttered as he took a step back from the gentle man.

He let out a bit of a chuckle. "I haven't see you before, You must be knew. Jiraya" He said as he stuck out his hand, no doubt it was for Nagato to shake.

He took the man's hand in his. He had a firm handshake, but at that same time it was oddly relaxed. "Y-Yeah, I'm Nagato. I just transferred from Amegakure."

"Aw, I see. You're hear on my list for first period. Excellent. I look forward to having you in class. Aren't you here a bit early though? I don't know of many kids that show up twenty minutes before class."

Nagato looked at his feet. Now that he thought about it, there really wasn't much of anyone around. "I was just going to look around," he said shakily, "I was hoping to find some coffee, and maybe my classes."

"Really?," Jiraya raised his eyebrows, "Well, I was just on my way to pick up some coffee myself. My first period is pretty loud this year, I'm going to need it. If you want to come a long I might be able to point out your other classes."

It seemed like a nice offer, but Nagato thought it might be kind of weird to be seen walking around with a teacher. There was no way he was going to get friends if he did that. On the other hand, he did need coffee and knowing where his classes were would be useful. Besides, nobody was around he told himself, no one would know.

They walked in silence. Well, mostly silence. As it turns out Jiraya was wearing some of the old style Japanese sandals. Man, this guy was weird.

As they were walking away from the on campus coffee bar Nagato heard the other man clear his throat.

"So," Jiraya asked, "What brings you to Konoha?"

"I," Nagato paused, "I didn't have anything worth staying for in Amegakure." There was an uncomfortable silence before anyone spoke again.

"I see." Jiraya sounded somewhat solemn when he said it, like he understood what Nagato meant. He must have imagined it he told him self, there was no way this stranger could know anything about him. "Anyway, what's the schedule of yours look like?"

Nagato handed him the piece of paper and waited as he looked it over.

"Tsunade huh?" He laughed lightly, "She is such a babe. Check out her rack," He held his hand out a little from his chest and groped the air a bit, as if he had boobs, "they're _HUGE_." Had his teacher really just done that? Wasn't there some rule against that? He couldn't just stare at him in utter astonishment.

Jiraya laughed again. "You should see your face kid, it's pretty funny. It's okay, I assure you. Besides, Tsunade and I grew up together. Anyway, her room is just across the hall from mine, you'll be fine getting to it. Let's see, 3rd you have with Iruka?" his eyebrows moved together like he had to think hard about where Iruka's room was, "I'm pretty sure his room is over there." He pointed across the campus towards a newer looking brick building with windows for one of it's walls. "He's a pretty great teacher from what I hear. I know him, but we don't exactly hang out all the time." He pointed to the building next to it and said, "You'll find math and science in there. Ibiki is a hard ass, he's on the top floor. Yamato is nice if you don't defy him, he's on the bottom. That leaving P.E.," He gestured towards the building behind them, "It's in there. Gai tends to be a bit over the top. His intentions are good but he's," Jiraya paused, "unusual." He handed that paper back to Nagato.

"Thanks, that helped a ton." Nagato smiled weakly as they walked into the building that contained his first period. Out of nowhere a white haired man appeared. Nagato was startled and jumped back a bit, but Jiraya didn't seem effected in the least bit.

"Ah, Kakashi! It's great to see you again!" His voice boomed out as he enthusiastically greeted the other man. Nagato figured now would be a good time to leave his teachers. It was less than ten minutes until school would start and more and more people showed up as the seconds ticked past.

As Nagato walked into the room he wasn't all too surprised to see that already quite a few of the seats had been taken. Like he expected with most high school classes the back rows were full and the front looked like it was lucky to ever be occupied.

He was so busy looking around the room that he didn't even notice Jiraya walk in behind him.

"Good morning students!" He voice easily quieted the room. "I know it's been a while and you may not remember, but the front seats aren't only for decoration. All of these seats will be full, so I suggest you just come to terms with fate and take a seat." He gestured to the kids who seemed to be standing around the room, obviously hoping a seat in the back would, for some reason or another, become available.

Jiraya walked to the front of the room and took a seat at his desk. Just then, Nagato set eyes on one of the most beautiful male's he'd ever seen. Nagato had never identified as either bi or straight. If thought someone was attractive, he thought they were attractive. Period.

The boy had tossed orange hair, it almost looked a blaze on his ivory skin. He had multiple piercings, too many to count. He seemed like he should look punk, or dangerous in some way, but he looked almost tame. Except in his eyes. His eyes were a deep brown, they almost seemed black. His face was so serene, he looked so calm. He was wearing long sleeve button up black shirt, the first and last few buttons were undone and it was rolled to the elbows. He wore it un- tucked so it hang loosely around his straight legged light blue jeans. He wore a white tie loosely around his neck and a white bandana around his forehead.

Next to him was a girl with blue hair. There was a white flower sticking out of the bun that some of her hair was in on the side of her head. Her skin was just as pale as the boy she sat next to and her eyes were an enthralling blue that reminded Nagato of the ocean. A beauty that he had only gotten to visit once before in his life. She wore a black tank top and dark cargo pants. She had on piercing on her face, it was centered below her bottom lip. She had quite a few piercings in her ears.

The two were absolutely stunning Nagato thought. They seemed to be at the center of a group. Surrounded by seven to eight others. Nagato couldn't help but stare at their beauty. He was sure he must look retarded to most everyone, but he didn't even care. Just then they boy looked over and they locked eyes. Nagato could feel his cheeks heating up as the blush slowly creeped into them, but he couldn't look away. There was something about the boy that made Nagato want to know him, very, very well.

"_BBRRRRRRRRRRING!_" The bell sounded, letting the students know they had five minutes to get to their assigned classes. One of the males in the orange haired boy's group got up to go to his class. The one sitting right next to the boy to be specific. One of the others made as if they were going to move to the seat when the orange haired boy's hand shot out and locked the other boy from taking the seat. He used his other hand to make a 'come here' motion, in Nagato's direction.

Sure that the boy was motioning to someone else, he looked around. There was on one else standing anywhere near him. In fact, there was on one near him at all. He started walking in the direction of the boy. As soon as he did he saw him smile. It wasn't exactly a normal smile. There was something hidden in it, something dark.

"Hi there," the boy said as Nagato took the seat next to him, "I'm Yahiko." His grin broadened. "The girl is Konan." He motioned behind himself. He saw the girl lean out from behind Yahiko and smile. "That's Kisame," A tall boy with dark, dark, blue hair and menacing demeanor. He wore a swim team sweatshirt, Nagato had seen earlier that it said Shark on the back. "Hidan," The boy next to him. His hair appeared white and he wore a shirt that was un-buttoned quite a ways down. Again it was un-tucked. He seemed like a loud mouth. "Zetsu," the one next to Hidan. His hair was black and he seemed to be concentrating very hard on a book he had in front of him. Nagato noticed it was some sort of plant book. He dressed like the rest of them; a bit rebellious and just off the beaten path. "Sasori and Deidara" They were sitting next to each other playing some game on an iPod. Sasori had read hair and looked kind of young. Deidara had long blonde hair and almost looked feminine. "Kakuzu," He had darker skin than the rest. His hair was black and he seemed very focused of something that looked like math. "and lastly, Madara," The last boy mentioned was looking off into the distance towards the front of the room. He looked very similar to the boy who had left when the first bell rang. He had long black hair. It had short layers on top and went to probably about his waist. "The one that left was Itachi. He Madara's cousin. His little brother goes here too. I don't know what classes he has though. What about you?"

Nagato thought about the question, what about him? He looked down at his shabby black jeans and wearing down black shirt. His light brown canvas coat was starting to look a bit worn and he was sure the black sneakers that had been new a couple years ago now only looked scuffed and old. He didn't exactly stand out from them, but he didn't exactly fit in either.

He looked back up to see that the boy was starring at him intently as he patiently waited for him to reply. Nagato thought for a moment later, then opened his mouth to speak.

"Class," boomed Jiraya's voice from the front, "We have a new student at Konoha High School this year. I can't help but wonder why anyone would want to join the ranks of you miscreants," there was a chuckle from some in the crowed. Was this guy for real? "but he has. Why don't you stand up and introduce yourself?"

Suddenly all 27 pairs of eyes were focusing on Nagato. He could once again feel the blush creep into his cheeks.

"I, uh, my name is Nagato." He said shakily and just barely loud enough for anyone to hear. "I moved here from Amegakure. I, uh, don't know what else I should say." He gave a fake little smile that he hoped would communicate that he was thoroughly finished speaking.

Jiraya began speaking and the class turned their attention back to him in the front. Nagato let out a sigh of relief and hoped that once was enough for the day and he wouldn't have to do it another five times.

"Hey." There was a light whisper and a tap on his shoulder. Nagato looked over to see the orange haired boy's face only inches from his. What was his name again? Yahiko, that's right. Nagato was terrible with names. He'd probably forget his own if he didn't have to use it everyday.

"Uh, hey." He replied.

"Amegakure, eh? I've heard of that place, I don't really know much though. How long have you been in Konoha? I haven't seen you around."

"I, uh, just got here about a week ago. I've spent most of my time unpacking and stuff."

"So I guess you don't really know your way around then, huh?"

"Uh, no, not really."

The boy smiled a devious smile. "I'll show you around then. You free after school? What classes do you have?"

Nagato wasn't sure if he should just tell the boy he was fine and could get himself around well enough. But then again, he was so handsome, and Nagato really was clueless. "S-sure," he stuttered out, "that'd be nice." He handed Yahiko the folded piece of paper that contained his schedule.

Yahiko looked the paper over and handed it back to Nagato. "It's nearly identical to mine, I'll make sure you don't get lost around here either." Then he gave Nagato a little wink and went back to paying attention to the front.

Had Yahiko just winked at him? Had that really happened? Nagato felt absolutely giddy inside. Was he supposed to feel like that? I mean, Yahiko was just being friendly, wasn't he? It didn't mean anything. But all his years at school before, he'd never seen two friends wink at each other, only lovers and boys trying to get girls into bed. Could Yahiko have meant it that way? Did he really have feelings for Nagato? Feelings that Nagato himself was just starting to realize?

Nagato turned his head back to the front. He thought it would be best to just ignore his feelings, he had to concentrate if he was going to survive his first day at KHS.

* * *

A/N: This is my first fan fic, so feel free to cut me some slack. I know it's not the best thing ever. I think it would be really helpful if some of you guys could read it and give me some pointers. Plus that would let me know that people were actually reading it. Thanks a ton.

Please review~

-Alice


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